The Department of Agriculture (DA) has extended its temporary ban on the importation of poultry products to include four additional American states in an effort to prevent the spread of bird flu in the country.

Under Memorandum Order (MO) No. 11, the agency orders the ban of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen from Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

The order came after reports early this month that several outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been affecting domestic birds in the four states.

Under the directive of DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, the trade restriction is a requisite to curb the potential spread of the virus and protect the health of the local poultry population.

Laurel has authorized the immediate suspension of the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearances for poultry products.

The import ban does not cover the entry of shipments that were already in transit, loaded, and arrived at local ports, provided that they were slaughtered or produced 14 days before the first outbreaks.

Illinois recorded its first outbreak last year on Nov. 14, followed by Minnesota on Nov. 26, Wisconsin on Dec. 10, and Ohio on Dec. 13.

If such products are not covered by this provision, veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors are mandated to stop and confiscate them across all major ports of entry.

The DA previously lifted the ban on poultry products from Ohio in June of last year and Minnesota in November.

Given the geographical land mass of the United States (US), veterinary authorities of the USA and the Philippines had a mutual agreement in 2016 that a state-wide ban shall only be imposed if there are three or more counties affected by HPAI in one state.

The four aforementioned states all had three or more counties affected with bird flu as reflected in their official reports in the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

Before this, the DA imposed a similar temporary ban on the US states of South Dakota, Maryland, and Missouri.

According to the WOAH, the HPAI virus can spread through direct contact with secretions from infected birds through feces and contaminated feed and water.

With its resistant nature, including the ability to survive for long periods when temperatures are low, the virus can also be carried on farm equipment and spread easily from farm to farm.